Chair



-,-.Nov. 15, 1932.

R. E. KOCHS ET A1..

CHAIR I Filed Dec. ll, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet l Nov. 15, 1932. R. E. KocHsET Al. 1,887,647

CHAIR Filed Deo. 11, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 nllgg Ze I \\"44 l, -1\VTI-ANNE?? a `\/l l www" l 47 M445 I l ,fa

gf/f

@kfz/5&6@ @y Nov. l5, 1932. RE. Koel-ls ET AL CHAIR Filed Deo. 11, 19293 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Nov. 15, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENTy OFFICEROBERT ERNEST KOCHS AN D' ARTHUR R, SGHWARZKOPF, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS,ASSIGN- ORS TO THEO. A. KOCHS COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ACORPORATION F ILLINOIS p CHAIR i Application iledv December 11, 1929.Serial No, 413,173.

This invention relates to chairs and particularly to chairs suitable foruse by barbers, beauty specialists, and the like, having means byy whichan operator may manipulate the chair into desired positions.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide such a chairin which the seat is adapted to swing around a vertical axis, be tiltedupon a horizontal axis, be raised or lowered to a desired elevation, andbe locked in a selected position, a single control means for theseseveral purposes being provided at one or more points. f

lA further object of the invention is to provide achair comprising aseat, back, sides, and apron connected together as a rigid unit so as tobe adjustable to a desired `position by a single manipulating handlewhich serves also to control a lock or release for the chair in each ofits several adjusted positions.

Other objects, advantages and capabilities will later more fully appear.

Our invention further resides in the com- .'bination, construction andarrangements of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, andwhile we have shown herein a preerred embodiment we wish the same to beunderstood as illustrative only and not limiting the scope of ourclaims.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a fragmentary sectional eleva-k variouspositions of said lever being shown in dotted lines, and Y Fig. 6 is aperspective view ofthe chairv support and associated parts;

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 10 designates the chair basewhich includes a vertical cylinder 11, the upper end of which is open.The numeral 12 designates the chair support, which includes a downwardlyextending cylinder. 18 ,which lits snu ly within thecylinder 11 so as tobecapa le of vertical movement vtherein andY rotary movement relativethereto. The support 12 comprises` a shoulder 14 which` limits the`downward `movement of the cylinder 13V within the cylinder 411. Thelower end ofthe cylinder 13 is provided with an opening which isnormally closed by aspring pressed valve 15 which is adapted to beopened by move-l ment in the downward direction against the4 actionof acompression spring. The stem of the valve 15 projects upwardlyasshowna'tl@ for apurpose hereinafter described. Y

A piston 17 is located within thecylinder `13. This piston is preferablyhollow and-the lower face thereofV is provided with an open` ingnormallyclosed by a valve 18 which is pressedrupwardlyv by a spring 19.The piston 17 is connected to a pump rod 20 by means of a pin 21 whichpasses through the lower end of-said pumpV rod and throughy ears 22carried by the upper side of the piston. Ports 23 are provided in theside wall of the piston 17 so as to extend into the space therein, andsaid space communicates with the upper side of the piston and a screenor strain-l er 24 is preferably provided to prevent foreign matter frompassing downwardly intoY the operative parts. The vinterior diameter sof the cylinder 13 is slightly increased near itslower end so that whenthe piston' 17 is pushed inwardly-to the bottom of the cylinder 13,which occurs when the pump handle 25 is moved to the extreme position a(Fig.

5), oil may pass from the lower side of the piston, through ports 23 andscreen 24 to the upper side thereof. This position of the piston causesthe valve 18 to depressl the stem 16 of the'valve 15 and `open same,thereby permitting oil to flow from the under side ofthe cylinder 13 tothe upper side of the piston 17 so that the chair descends vertically.-It will readily be understood that if thev pump handle 25 is oscillatedso as torecipro cate the piston 17 to an extent short ofvitsl lowermostposition within the cylinder' 13,

`manent fashion.

ledge of the scat 29.

oil will be pumped from the uppe` side of the piston through the valves18 and 15 to the lowei` side of the cylinder 13 thereby causing theelevation of the chair to the desired extent.

The upper portion of the chair support is preferably dished and is cutaway at therear as shown at 26. At its upper edge the support 12 isprovided with projecting trunnions 27 which are engaged by lugs 28attached to the under side of the chair seat 29. In alignment with thetrunnions 27 and at a lower level, the chair support 12 is provided withbosses 30 which provide bearings for a hori- Zontal hollow shaft 31. Theshaft 31 is provided with a crank arm 32, to which the bifurcated upperend of the pump rod 20 is secured by the pin 33. The upper end of Athepump rod is preferably formed with laterally bent or U-portion to enablethe hand lever to be swung back far enough to carry the wrist pin 33beyond a vertical line passing into the axis of the hollow shaft 31.This position corresponds to the position b of the `handle 25 as shownin Fig. V5. Abrake shoe 34 of conventional or other suitable form may beprovided so that when the handle 25 is moved to the position b aprojection 35 on the pump rod 2O engages the brake shoe 34 so as to lockthe cylinders 13 and 11 against relative rotation.

The hollow shaft 31 extends outwardly slightly beyond one of the sides36 of the chair, and at its outer end it is provided with a sleeve 37which receives the stem 38 of the handle 25. Within the hollow shaft 31is located a shaft 39 which projects slightly into the sleeve 37 andengages a flat surface cut upon the cylindrical surface of the stem 38.

The handle 25 is provided with a projecting finger or trigger 40 whichenables same to be rotated upon its axis. A projection 41 upon the stem38 is adapted to move in a recess 42 at the outer end of the sleeve 37and thereby limit this movement.

The chair comprises the seat 29, arms 36 and back 43 which arepreferably assembled rigidly with respect to each other so that they maybe upholstered in any desired perseat 29 is rigidly mounted a dependingapron 44 which carries a foot rest 45 of any desired form. A rod 46extends from the rear side of the apron 44 to a point near the rear Therod. 46 is pivotally connected to brackets 47 carried by the apron andseat soy as to intersect the axis of the shaft 39. The rear end of therod 46 is provided with an elongated opening 48 to permit a slightmovement thereof relatively to the rear bracket 47 in order to permitengagement of the rod at an intermediate point by locking means whichwill now be described.

The locking meanscomprises ahousing 49 At the front edge of the throughopenings .'53 in plates' 54 which are held in spaced relation by meansof an interposed spring 55. -The outer ends of the plates 54 are engagedin a recess 5,6 in the cover 57 `of the housing 49. The inner ends ofthe plates 54 engage oppositely Ybeveled surfaces of a slidable member58 which is engaged by a reduced"l end 59 of the shaft- 39 whichprojects beyond .theY end of the hollow `shaft 31. The( outer end of thehollow shaft 31 is closed by a collar 60 which forms an abutment for aspring 61 which tends to push the shaft 39 outwardly towards the handle25. The outer end of the hollow shaft 31 is supported by s acollar 62which is mounted'in the adjacent boss 30. Washers 63 mounted near theends of the rod 46 serve as abutments for springs 64 of suitablestrength which abut alsov against the outer sides of the housing 49.

. Itis preferred to employ a relatively strong spring and a relativelyweak spring on each side of the housing so that compressive force 1sexerted upon the housing in all positions of adjustment. Y

YIt will be understood that all the move-l` ments of the chair can becontrolled by suitable operation of the handle 25.V Thus, as previouslydescribed, the chair can be ele-` vated by oscillating the handlethrough a range intermediate between the extreme positions a and' bshown in Fig. 5. The chair c may be caused to descend vertically bymoving the handle 25 into the position a andY may be locked againstrotation on its vertical axis by moving the lever into the position b.The chair is normally locked with respect to tilting movement by theaction of the spring 55 whichnormally holds the plates `54 so that theopenings 53 therein grip the rod 46 and prevent longitudinal movementthereof. By rotating the handle 25 upon its axis into the position shownin full lines in Fig. 5, the shaft 39 is moved bodily against the actionof the spring 61. This movement causes the member 58 to move outr-:ardlyso that the beveled surfaces thereof cause the inner ends ofthe plates54 to approach each other. The chair is now capable of being tilted uponthe trunnions 27 into any desired position. Upon 'releasing the handle25 the plates 54 resume the gripping relation of' the rod 46' and thechair is maintained in such position until further adjustment isdesired.

One of the important results of our invention is the provision of achair which is integral and may be upholstered as a unit, and which iscapable of a large variety of movements which are adapted to be operatedand controlled by suitable actuation of the same controlling member.

We claim:

l. In combination, a chair-seat adapted to tilt about a horizontal axis,means movable about an axis non-concentric With respect to the axis ofthe chair-seat and connected to the chair-seat on opposite sides of itshorizontal axis for locking and supporting the chairseat in desiredtilted position, means for elevating the chair-seat, and an actuatingmember operatively connected to both the elevating means and lockingmeans.

2. In combination, a chair-seat ada ted to rotate on a vertical axis andtilt a out a horizontal axis, means connected to the chairseat onopposites sides of its horizontal axis for locking the chair-seat indesired tilted position, means for locking the chair-seat againstrotation, means for elevating the chair-seat, and an actuating memberoperatively connected to both the elevating means and the locking means.

3. In combination, chair-seat, a chairseat support on which the seat ispivotally mounted for tilting about a horizontal axis, a base in whichthe support is rotatably mounted, seat elevation means including apiston Within said support adapted to transfer fluid to cause theelevation of the support in the base, piston actuating means including apump handle, a rod connected to the chairseat on opposite sides of thepivotal mounting, and means mounted on said base and associated withsaid pump handle and operable thereby for holding the rod against end-Wise movement.

4. In combination, a chair-seat, a pivotal support on which the seat istiltably mounted, a base in Which the support is rotatably mounted, seatelevating means including a piston Within said support adapted totransfer fluid to cause the elevation of the support in the base, pistonactuating means including a pump handle,'a housing mounted on said base,a rod connected to the chair-seat on opposite sides of said pivotalsupport and movable through said housing, resilient means associatedWith the rod tending to oppose tilting of the chair-seat, means carriedby said housing normally gripping the rod to prevent movement thereof,and means associated with the pump handle and operable thereby forreleasing the gripping means. p

5. In combination, a chair comprising a back, sides, seat and apronrigidly connected together, a pivotal support on which the chair istiltably mounted, a base in which the support is rotatably mounted,chair elevating means including a piston Within said support adapted totransfer fluid to cause the elevation of the support in the base, pistonactuating means includng al pump handle, a housing mounted on the base,a rod connected at one end to the chair-seat and at its opposite end tothe apron and moving through said housing, springs pn the rod bearingagainst said housing and opposing tilting of the chair, means carried bysaid housing` normally gripping the rod to prevent movement Y thereof,and means operable by rotation of the handle on its axis for releasingthek gripping means. p In testimony whereof, We have hereunto set ourhands this 5th day of December, 1929.

ROBERT ERNEST KOCHS. ARTHUR R. SCHWARZKOPF.

